"Is something the matter?"
Out of nowhere, I suddenly raised my head and turned to the south.
Quite a few hits rang out on [Presence Detection].
Or rather, it was a lot, and they were increasing rapidly.
[Claret, can you go check to see what's showing up to the south?]
"Yes Master."
The dark spirit rose up from my shoulders and passed through the wall.
(Ah, right. She can't go through the ceiling because its coated with magical fire to keep things lit up.)
Even if it wasn't supposed to be an attack, it was still something that could harm her. Though I wondered if that was true for her level, it was better not to get hurt either way.
"No, it's nothing dangerous."
At least I hoped so, but there wasn't any point in making Epione worried if I didn't have to.
But since there wasn't really anything for me to add, I simply went back to making lunch. If the soup over boiled, the veggies would get too soft and the potatoes would turn into mush. Sometimes that was good, but this wasn't French style potato soup. Beef stew warranted firm potatoes.
"Master, they seem to be those adventurers that were following you a little while back, along with some people wearing the same outfits."
[By those adventurers, you mean the ones we came into this forest with?]
"That's right."
So that part was good. But the people wearing the same outfits?
[What do you mean the same outfits?]
"For some reason, they were wearing the same armour and even bigger clothes that looked the same over top of that."
[...Were they soldiers?]
"Maybe?"
Normally a person wouldn't confuse such a thing, but this was Claret we were talking about. If it didn't have anything to do with me or my predecessor, there was a decent chance that she would've not taken any interest in it and never filed it away in that uselessly hollow head of hers.
But that said, I was probably right. Either they were soldiers, or knights, or guards, or some equivalent. Most likely the reinforcements that were promised a little while back.
It had taken slightly longer than I had predicted, but it was within reason, once you considered the distance this place was from the city we started at.
I fished my usual robes from my bag and put it on.
Its been over a week since I wore this thing, but it felt nice on my skin. I had missed wearing it, and already I was feeling nostalgic.
"There's something I need to check."
I informed the closest women as they ate.
Before I could move, something wrapped itself around my leg, immobilizing me. It was the arm of the newest mother, the one I helped deliver her baby.
She looked up at me with concern in her eyes.
"You will be back, right?"
In her place, Epione asked me. Looking up, all the others who heard me had the same look.
"Of course. I'll be back soon."
I gave her head a reassuring pat. The woman opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly, before she let go after a moment of hesitation.
The glint of worry didn't leave any of their eyes, but they did seem to accept it at least.
"Don't worry. It won't take long."
I turned from the group, but before I left the room, I turned back, remembering one last important thing.
"If anyone asks, I'm just an elf. Not a vampire. Could you make sure that everyone knows that?"
"Oh, right. I got it."
Epione nodded repeatedly. It was good that I didn't have to explain myself.
With those parting words, I made my way out of the room and to the stairs.
Before I stepped up the stone staircase, I checked my outfit once more.
My shoes, my one glove (the other went missing when I lost my right arm in the last fight), the belts that held my robes secure, and my hood.
Without the hat that ended up missing and mostly likely destroyed during the previous fight, I had to go through the extra effort to make sure that my hood didn't move out of place by accident. Perhaps fortunately, due to the lack of a hat under it, my hood fell even further down my face than usual, but that would help obscure my face even better than before. At a time like this, not being able to see as well wasn't really an issue. The light of the sun was annoyingly harsh and putting a bit of extra precaution to prevent it from scorching my face was nice.
Finally, I activated [Spirit Form] and then used [Alter Silhouette] to shorten my fangs and change the colour of my eyes to hide my vampireness.
Once I was sure that I've done all that I could, I climbed the steps.
When I reached the top, the sight of the first few adventurers came to view as they rounded the final corner of the hallway.
The first two were the pathfinders from the investigation. They both readied their weapons as they saw me, but glanced at the walls and ceiling before acting any further than that.
"Wait! It's me!"
I extended both hands to show that I was unarmed.
"You?! You're unharmed?"
A large figure pushed through the next few people and looked at me in surprise.
"Fortunately."
I could only give a wry smile. I was now unharmed, but there was no way that anyone could call my miserable state at the end of that battle as unharmed.
The two pathfinders lowered their weapons and the whole group approached. There was a large group of soldier-like people that followed behind the adventurers.
"What about that vampire? What happened? There's a lot of damage to the walls."
"He was killed by another vampire."
"What?! We've got another monster on our hands?!"
"Ah no! There's no monster here anymore!"
I practically had to grit my teeth. Being called a monster, especially by a person who was supposed to be my ally pissed me off.
"Really? Another vampire showed up, and after killing the leader of the bandits, it just ran off somewhere?"
"At the very least, there's only us and the survivors now."
Lying about things could get dicey, so rather than do such a clumsy thing, I just kept to the truth. After all, I wasn't some sort of monster. I was a person.
If only people would recognize that all of me was a person, not just part of me.
Maybe Alicia was the only one that did.
After explaining a little more, I lead the group down the stairs to the room where everyone was at.
I only allowed a handful in as the group was quite large and I didn't want to alarm the women inside. Many in the group argued about the treatment but the investigation leader shut them all down.
The leader introduced himself to the group and explained what was going on.
I confirmed it all, and after some work, we finally left that prison.
It was late in the second day after we left that we finally arrived at the empty village.
We brought everything that could be salvaged.
I pulled a hastily put together wagon with the unresponsives riding on top, together with the newest mother.
There was no way they could walk, and there were too many for me to carry. Some of the adventurers or reinforcements could've carried them, but they all reacted poorly when approached by them, so it was really the only solution.
Of course, while it only took part of a day to reach the bastard's mansion from the village, returning took much longer. Everyone's stamina was low to begin with, and the most heavily pregnant of them couldn't go far without rest.
They also refused help from anyone but each other as well.
While the soldiers and some of the adventurers got frustrated at the slow pace, I pretended to also get tired here and there to give even more reason to take more breaks.
Though it looked like the leader figured me out, he never outed me. Most likely he just approved of my tactics.
The return to the village was a sombre one.
Even though they had finally come home, nobody looked excited. Nobody rushed to their empty houses.
When we reached the village square, I finally pulled out the giant urn filled with the ashes of victims that died.
I explained what it was.
Many stared at it, many others simply fell to their knees and cried.
The only thing I could do was make dinner using the food we brought back from the bandit base. After I made sure all the woman had eaten, I was lead by some of them to one of the larger buildings, and helped me carry the unresponsives to the largest room inside of it so they could rest.
I chose to spend the night there as well.
The adventurers and soldiers?
Frankly, I didn't really care. They seemed to find their own accommodations, and I was satisfied that I didn't hear any disturbing noises that night.
"So what happened to the kids?"
I finally asked the team leader after serving everyone's breakfast.
"Some of the guards are escorting them back to the city. The lord'll decide what to do with them."
"What do you think he'll decide?"
Part of me didn't want to know the answer, but I asked anyways. There was still some hope inside of me. It was why I put in so much effort to only knock them out in the first place.
"Chance are, they'll just be executed. Even at best they'll be made into criminal slaves."
"But they're just kids!"
"They're bandits. Regardless of their age."
He looked down at me and firmly stated so.
I knew. I knew that, but still, most of them were so young. They probably didn't even have a choice.
"Even still. Isn't there some way for them to have their sentences reduced? Some sort of rehabilitation or something? And maybe they could be guards or something after? They're pretty strong already."
"And who'd do that? And who'd pay for that? And even if you find people for both, who'd hire them afterwards? What would they do? Nobody would trust freaks like them."
"Dhampires."
"Huh?"
"They're Dhampires. All of them are half vampires right? That makes them dhampires."
No matter how much I looked at their stats, their race was always filled with nonsense characters, and nobody seemed to know what to call them. But for me, someone from Earth, there was a word that fit them perfectly.
"I've never heard of that term before."
"Some people far away call their kind that."
I couldn't really tell him where that place was though. He wouldn't believe it.
"And the babies those women are carrying. They're also those..."
"Dhampires. Yes. You're not going to say they need to die too, are you?"
"It's not my call. The lord'll decide."
I didn't like that answer at all.
"But you can convince the guild master, right? And he can convince the lord?"
If he couldn't, then what was the point of being a guild master of the local Adventurers' Guild branch?
"It's not like those babies had done anything wrong. They're not guilty of some sort of crime, are they? Little babies that can't even stand on their own two feet yet?"
"...I'll have a talk with him."
I was going to have to be satisfied with that.
Really, this entire thing had tired me out, and I just wanted to go home.
"And also, tell the guild master to have my reward deposited into my account."
"You're not returning to the city?"
"I'm not."
I've been lied to. Twice. In a row.
I understood why, but that didn't make it any less annoying. I didn't really want to meet the guild master at all.
Peitho on the other hand...I was angry at her, but I understood. She did end up helping me, and while her words were a lie, she did lead me in the right direction and I did get what I needed most. Considering how smart she seemed, she probably predicted all that, but really wanted me to help out the villagers along the way.
She also probably thought that I might not go if she didn't bait me with information about vampires in the first place.
Thinking about it, if it wasn't for the fact that I had Magni waiting for me, I probably would've gone looking for a library to get more information on vampires if she hadn't pointed me in that direction.
A village of missing people wasn't exactly something I would've chased if it wasn't immediately in front of me. It was something that should've normally been left to the local authorities and Peitho would've had to have done a lot of persuading to have made me go help.
Or rather, if that had happened, then I would've just gone by myself rather than as part of the investigation and due to my inability to follow tracks, would've ended up at a dead end and forced to give up with no good clues to work off of.
Considering what ended up being what had happened, that would've been quite the disaster.
It really made me wonder just how much Peitho had figured out about me.
Having given my answer to the team leader, I moved on to the others.
"Could you gather everyone for me?"
I asked the favour to Epione.
"Of course!"
And with those two words, she went off and gathered everyone.
That was, everyone from the bandit's hideout. None of the soldiers nor adventurers were included. Even the unresponsives were brought over even though none of them had shown any major signs of recovering yet.
"Now that we've managed to get back to the village, this is where everything really starts. Where your lives start."
Many of the women nodded, some had tears flowing down their cheeks even, and there were a few cheers as well.
"Be strong. There will be countless difficulties ahead in the future, but as long as you persevere, you'll overcome them, as you've overcome this harsh chapter."
Even more cheering erupted.
"I'll distribute some things to help jump-start your new lives, and I hope that you all will find happiness in whatever form it takes."
The cheering quickly stopped and was replaced with confusion.
It seemed like I needed to be more clear about my intents.
"I don't know when we'll meet again, but I hope that everyone had been able to find some happiness by then."
Shock rippled through the group as realization of what my words meant were disseminated and deciphered.
"Wait! You're leaving?!"
Epione was the first to cry out. Many others had as well.
"Of course. I have other obligations to tend to as well."
I was still being targeted by assassins. Without knowing what sort or when such a being would appear, staying with this group who couldn't protect themselves was crazy.
In addition, I wouldn't be able to raise my level in this area. More than anything else, my level was the thing that protected me from any attempts as things stood, and my confrontation with that bastard proved that it wasn't nearly high enough.
If I could, then my goal was to at least double my level before any encounters. If I didn't aim for such lofty goals, then I wasn't just putting my own life at risk, but the lives of those who were staying close to me.
But I suppose that leaving without any resistance from all the people I had gotten to know here was unrealistic.
Practically everyone cried out and quite a few had tears running down their faces.
(Just how attached had everyone gotten to me in such a short period of time?!)
Maybe it was just inevitable since I was the only person they had relied on since they were freed from that bastard, but it was troubling. Staying just wasn't an option.
"Hmmm...how about this? I'll give you a few ways to contact me in case something happens? And even if nothing happens, I'll come visit when I can, though I can't promise the next time will be soon. Is that enough?"
The expressions everyone was giving me told me that it wasn't even close, but nobody spoke up, so at least they accepted that they couldn't ask for more.
I was glad. I had no idea how to give any more, as I wasn't going somewhere that was populated in the first place.
"The first is a travelling merchant. His name is Mint and he travels across several cities, but his base is in the north, a small village called...ummm...'Edgeworth!' That's it!"
It took some effort, but I was glad I managed to remember the village's name. Nobody else would've known what it was, so if I didn't remember, then I would've been screwed.
(Oh wait, Alicia's from that village. I could've just asked her if I forgot.)
That thought made me extra glad I didn't forget. Forgetting the name of her birth town would've been a disgrace.
"The other is Philia, the director of an orphanage in Linsington City."
Mint was probably the better one to contact, as he would be easier to get a hold of as he came pretty far south during his usual course. On the other hand, if the timing ended up being bad, Philia would be the more reliable one to contact since she didn't move around.
And if they absolutely had to travel, Philia could accommodate them while Mint couldn't.
"You can send a message through either of them. If it can't be sent through a letter, then Philia could take care of you until I arrive. Got it?"
Many of them nodded, but there wasn't any signs that they were satisfied.
"You really have to go?"
"I do. There's things I have to do, and some of them can't be done here."
Quite a few heads fell at my words.
"Aaa...!"
Something pulled at my sleeve. The one closest to me looked up while sitting on the dirt. She held the newborn baby in one arm while gripping my sleeve hard enough that her hand turned as white as my skin.
"I'm sorry, but I really need to go. Everyone here is like a sister to you. You'll be far safer with them than me."
I gave her a pat on the head then kneeled down and kissed her on the cheek before bringing her into an embrace.
Her hand let go of my sleeve and wrapped itself around my body before pulling on a fist full of my robes.
"Take care of your baby. We'll meet again, and I look forward to seeing how much he's grown by then."
I pulled away and kissed her on the cheek again.
Her mouth opened and closes, like she was trying to say something.
Without any expectations, I stayed there, waiting until she gave up.
"Iii...Iii..."
(Huh?!)
It was different from the usual. She closed her eyes as if it took everything she had to recall the words she was trying to speak.
"Iii...Ilithyia...Hygia."
(Those...those were actual words!)
Or rather, a name?
"Ilithyia Hygia?"
She dropped her head before raising it.
"N...n...name!"
"That's your name?"
She dropped her head, or rather, nodded, again before giving me a gentle smile.
"N...name!"
"I see, that's your name!"
It was so great to finally get her name. Or rather, any words out of her. It really showed that she was well on her way to fully recovering. The wound in her heart would someday properly close, and maybe that day wasn't far off.
It made me want to stay to help bring that day come myself, but such a thing wasn't reasonable. Staying just wasn't possible as things stood.
"Name?"
But she repeated her last word again. This time her smile had fallen and there was something else in her eyes.
"...Name?"
I could see a hint of uncertainty there, but there was also something else.
"...N..name?"
That something else grew. Her eyes looked so pure, so innocent, that it took me a moment to recognize it.
Curiosity.
"You mean my name?"
Ilithyia's smile returned and she gave me a hefty nod.
"Right. I never gave everyone my name."
I looked up and saw everyone silently leaning in close. It seemed like they clued in that I was finally going to reveal my name.
It wasn't like I purposely hid it from them, but I had just forgotten to properly introduce myself due to the shock of what I had originally seen, and it never came up since.
"Well, my name's Scarlet."
"Scarlet?!"
"She said her name is Scarlet?!"
"Just like the saint!"
"Wh, wh, wait! I mean, yea, I was named after her, but I'm hardly comparable to someone as great as her!"
She was a person with a lengthy legacy. I was only someone who helped out a few people here and there.
(Well, quite a bit more than a few this time, but this is an exception.)
Such expectations were way too heavy for me in the first place.
"No but..."
"Right?"
"Yea!"
It didn't look like my words did anything but have the reverse effect.
There was clear reverence in everyone's eyes. Even Ilithyia had the same look in hers as well.
"No, I mean, I just helped you girls out for a bit. Anyone would've done so. It's hardly something to be praised about."
It really was within common sense.
"""..."""
Everyone stared at me for a moment.
"She's even as reserved as they say the saint was!"
"It's like she's the saint reborn!"
"I've never heard anyone live up to her name as well as she does!"
(Ah, even this backfired.)
I didn't know if my common sense was just that different from the standards here or if their bias was just warping everything into a positive feedback loop or something.
(Confirmation bias is terrifying.)
It didn't seem like anything I could say would change their minds. All I could hope was that this wouldn't turn into some sort of cult or something.
*Sigh*
"Anyways, moving on to important things."
I unshouldered my bag and reached inside. Out came a bag of coins.
After a quick check, I removed a handful of coins and threw them back into my bag before tying the coin bag's throat again. The ones I removed were mostly just the smaller coins that would only add unneeded bulk and weight.
"Here, make sure everyone gets a fair share of this."
I dropped the sack at Epione's feet. A muffled sound of clinking metal reverberated for a moment.
"What's this?"
She tried to pick it up before realizing how heavy it was.
"Some money. Make sure everyone gets an equal share."
"Wha wha wha?!"
The girl stepped back in a panic, as if I just told her it was a bomb.
(How rude.)
"I don't know what you girls'll receive to help restart your lives, but things'll probably be tight for a while. Use this to ease your burden."
"We, we can't take this! It's so much!"
The girl finally approached the sack and looked inside.
"It is a lot, but there's a lot of you. Even if you don't need it, use it on those that do then. Most of you are carrying a child inside of you, and it'll be difficult to work when you get close to term. The first few months after your babies are born will also be next to impossible to work, so use this money then."
"Miss Scarlet..."
They all looked at me with a serious expression on their faces.
"If you still don't need the money, then use it on those who can't work themselves. Ilithyia and the others like her need lots of extra help until they get better. Use the money so that they can get the help they need to live. Ah, right."
I pulled out another coin from my bag. A divine gold coin.
If I remembered right, just this one was worth as much as the bag of gold coins I had just given these women.
(As things stand, this is too dangerous to simply hand over as is.)
With that thought in my mind, I pulled out a large fang and quickly worked it into a simple pendant with a crescent moon engraved on it and slipped the coin inside a thin cavity before stuffing it with some clay from the ground. Finally I cropped a string of leather from a random sheet I had and looped it through a hole in the pendant before tying it around Ilithyia's neck.
"If what I gave you isn't enough, I put in something you can use to trade at the Adventurers' Guild for more money."
When I turned to look at everyone though, the sight that greeted me was far different from what I had expected.
They were all bowing towards me.
(Ah, jeez.)
So now that this horrible arc ended I got a few comments about the stuff that wasnt nicely done or way to obvious.
First thing is the rather forceful intent to make Scarlet a woman in body and mind in order to justify pregnancy as the only way to get Alicia a new body. We only had to read through the suffering of a large amount of kidnapped and imprisoned rape victims.
And quite alot of it was rather sudden. For example her encounter with the vampire. This was the first time that she felt attracted to a male. Thats a 180 to all the encounters before, there was never any mention of physical attraction towards any one else. Closest was Philia from the orphanage. The whole thing was cemented with a sudden realization that she doesnt feel anything when she sees a naked woman.
Additionally she was together with women who are pregnant and even helped delivering a baby to show us or her that she would be comfortable to be a mother.
I think it was really heavy-handed to use this nasty scenario to get the readers prepared for whats to come and it also didnt deal with the issue of gender-bendering but removed the notion.
I think I could have an easier time if Scarlet just conjures some dense vampire making mana and puts Alicias core(soul) into it.
This arc also showed some nasty sides to Scarlets personality. After she found the victims I thought that she was just incapable of compassion and empathy because of her vampiric nature. She acted like couldnt imagine what they went through and why they acted the way they did and wasnt even able to shed a tear for their misery.
But then she found a room with the remains of the dead and was crying her soul out, for people she never met or interacted with and who didnt need to suffer any further unlike the other victims.
In contrast to that it felt like everything Scarlet did for the woman wasnt because she was able to or out of compassion but because she felt obligated. So in the end the dead are worth more than those who will be scarred for life and those who most likely will never recover and wished they were dead?
Then there was the point of her advocating against abortion and her arguments. She argued that she is against abortions because vampires generally cant get pregnant or just have a family BUT this was never a subject for her before. She is a vampire for just a few years and never considered having a family a few weeks prior and only considers it now to get Alicia a life. Lets not talk about forcing your opinion on rape victims who have to deal with the offspring and the constant reminder of what happend.
In the end she helped but the whole thing was way out of character like her sudden dislike of the sun and how she couldnt understand why all the other are happy to be in the sun after being imprisioned for such a long time in a dungeon. Never before she stated such a dislike. Also taking it personally that others call vampires monster was out of character. It never offended her before, why now?
Generally I was very unhappy with this arc, not for what happend but for what it was used and how Scarlets personality took a turn for the worse in my eyes.
I agree with your thought on heavy handedness in this chapter. Especially the change in sexuality. Because if I'm not confusing this novel with another it had a girls love tag on it at some point and I'm guessing the author saw some comments against it and decided against it. Then needed a way to change it. Hence the heavy handed forceful changes
I'm curious as to why you think this arc was heavy-handed. The tone of this arc was certainly darker than the rest of the story, but that in and of itself isn't a bad thing. It's normal for people to change their minds after new experiences. You may be right about Scarlet not showing enough empathy to the women, but I think she was trying to keep their attitude up and not hurt their morale. When she found the corpses she just couldn't keep the facade up any more, and broke down where she wouldn't panic the women she was trying to save.
I interpret Scarlet's acceptance of pregnancy as her realizing it is the only reasonable way to get Alicia a body of her own in a reasonable time frame. Alicia doesn't want a golem body since she wouldn't be able to live like she wants to with Scarlet. Nobody alive seems to have any experience or knowledge on how to create a body by magic, and it is illegal to research the subject. That leaves pregnancy as the only way for her to give Alicia what she wants.
Also, I don't know why it would be weird for Scarlet to find a vampire attractive, but not humans/elves/dwarves/etc. She is a different species now, with different instincts and drives than when she was human. Is it really so strange she would be attracted other vampires and not humans? I also would not be surprised if vampires in general find stronger members of their race more attractive, so she would find a vampire that was an even higher level than her inherently desirable. That would also have the benefit of making the task of sleeping with a male vampire to father Alicia a bit more palatable for Scarlet.
@Toro1d Maybe I didnt express myself clearly enough.
From what I have read it wasnt much of keeping up a facade but almost something like indifference. At some point I thought that she just helped them because she felt obligated to do so and not because she really cared.
She mentioned a few times how she doesnt know what they are going through. To some degree I can accept because she didnt life through the horror herself but should be able to atleast imagine it. She also mentioned how she was curious what happend to the 'unresponsive' and why they were like that. What happend should have been clear at that point, they were raped and imprisoned in a dark room like cattle without hope, food and light. That someone would have a mental breakdown should be obvious.
Later on she pondered if she would be able to help them after they got back but came to the decision that it wasnt like she knew them or owed anything. Its a rational thought and something most people would think even if they wouldnt admit it openly. But it points towards obligation and not compassion.
The next thing was how she wondered why they are so happy to get to see the sun again. Well obviously because they were locked away for month to years in a dark room. But before that, Scarlet never mentioned how sunlight bothered her after her first encounter with it. After she modified her weakness she could easily walk under the sun if clothed and never cursed about it. So why did she wonder now how they would enjoy sunlight and even got vocal about it later on.
In the end she never shed a tear for them and only felt curiosity and recognized that their life was 'probably' not so good there. She could only shed tears for an abstract. For people who were already dead, whom she never met or talked to, nothing more than unrecognizable remains.
She also was able to shed tears for the unborn children when it became clear that the victim werent all to happy to have them and her arguments were debatable. Let me say that there are pro's and con's for abortion but most of them dont apply in that situation.
She argumented that the unborn children were 'their children'. Probably true if you get pregnant by mistake because you or your partner were stupid because you couldnt use contraceptions. But in this case they never wanted to be pregnant and it happend because they were raped. Additionally they would be half-vampires wich count as abominations in their world. Are those unborn children innocent? Yes, but its their decision to abort or not. You shouldnt go full church in their situation and not guilt tripping them.
Then she went on with her personal dilemma and said that she lived her entire life not kowing how she could get pregnant. Well thats a lie, first she lived most of her life as a man and a few years as a vampire and only thought recently about getting pregnant just to give birth to Alicia and not because of some desire to have a family.
That was a desire of the original Scarlet and we all know how she likes it to be compared to her. But in that situation she used it as an argument. Additionally she lamented her lacking ability to enjoy food and so on. Did she forget that she already got a second chance to life no one else got? Also didnt she make a concious decision to be a vampire?
I get that she misses what she had before after the fact but dont use arguments that arent your own from people who are dead and dont lament the fact that you cant enjoy your life after you get to life a second life after you died.
All the time she is fairly hypocritcal herself but finds false conviction in the strangest situation. A good example are the half-vampire teens they caught before. She got also vocal about their punishment as if they werent some of the worst criminals because they are teens? They killed and abducted people and destroyed the lifes of those who got to live as breeding machines. Everyone would get executed for those crimes but because they were teens they deserve better? Heck, even Scarlet killed her fair share of people on her own, not only in the current arc but also before.
Also funny how she got mad after the leader of the rescue called vampires monster. Why did she got mad? Because she did take it personal and wants them to think of her as a person and not a monster. Since when did she care? To this point she ignores the fact that Claret doesnt see her as a person but also doesnt bother to finally say something about it. And to the leaders defense, 99% of the vampires are monster.
All in all she showed so many nasty sides in this arc who were completly unreasonable and unprecedented. She was even more hypocritical than before and showed that something abstract is more important than something that is close and a fact.
Now to what was heavy-handed in my opinion. We got something fed and not even in a subtle way, that was never a subject before and most of the time avoided.
Before I get into that, that is how I categorize Gender-bender fictions.
1. Gender-bender storys where the s*x change does not have any implications and doesnt get explored. Mostly used as an inconvinience and comedic relief.
2. Gender-bender storys where the subject will be treated careful and to its full extent. With all the research that is necessary. The outcome will be still what the author decides on but atleast it gets explored on a mental and physical level. There is no automatic 'You are now a female so obviously you are now attracted to men' or 'Of course you are attracted to women because you are still mentally a men'. Thats not how it works and would also deny the existence of transgender and so on.
3. Yuri fanservice, nothing more to add.
This story was 90 chapters category 1, 1-2 chapters category 3 and now 5 chapters category 2. But in those chapters it wasnt explored but 'realized', born out of necessity. Not because she had years to explore her sexuality but because she absolutely needs to get pregnant to get Alicia.
How was it realized?
It started with a sudden reaction to male. The fact that it was a vampire played most likely a role, everything else wouldnt make much sense because she never felt any attraction to a male before and it wasnt even hinted. There was only Philia until now and she was a woman.
Then she suddenly realized for the first time that she didnt feel aroused seeing naked woman twice in this arc. But I gotta be honest, I wouldnt also feel any hint of arousal in that situation. Heck, even if I go into the sauna or smth similar there wont be much arousal.
First time she had any kind of maternal feelings was after she helped to bring a child into the world. Why were there no maternal feelings in her time at the orphanage or why was Alicia more like a little sister in the beginning?
Then she mentioned 'several times' that the only way is to get pregnant but never wanted to think this train of thought to the end. Felt like the author wanted to leave a door open but it kinda fits, because Scarlet was never prone to follow any kind of thought through to the end. The reasoning this time? Well, she cant let Alicia see any of that because she is so young. Well damn, Alicia did already see most of the worst sh*t the world has to offer.
Now, dont get me wrong. Im all for it, for Scarlet to become the mother of Alicia. Its a neat way to get her back and would fit the fluffiness of this fiction. But it has its own problems that need to be explored. Like, we have to endure Scarlets pregnancy arc. Then we have Alicia as a toddler and raising her. Will Alicia keep all her memories after her core (soul) will be transfered to the unborn child. If not, would it be even worth it if Alicia wont be Alicia but just some random newborn? Its similiar how Claret doesnt see Scarlet as who she is but who she knew, that would be incredibly annoying.
So yeah, many problems to be adressed but also opportunities. But I would have liked to have all that explored in a different setting. She could have explored and realized her orientation after dating some guys and gals and then decide what feels right and how to proceed. But not in this horrible setting without any real exploration but only statements to fit the future narrative.
TL;DR
Generally I was very unhappy with this arc, not for what happend but for what it was used and how Scarlets personality took a turn for the worse in my eyes.
For the vampire attraction part, i think the author want to make it like the "need/urge of blood", who is forcefull and physical, almost compulsive. But yes, it's heavy handed and not so much used the way it is done. But it remaind ok for me.
In the same way, the teen half-blood are ... only partly guilty for me. You can't accuse someone to do bad thing, if no-one have never told them what is good, and what is bad. The real sinner is the "father" (like alway, the one who teach are the guilty). They have kill, robbed, eat human flesh, and all this sh*t, yes. But this is what they have be teach to do from the start. The question is, can they learn, and change ? If yes, they have the right to have a better live, and work to redem themself. If not ... they are just monster from mind and soul, and need to be put-down. So in fact, both the camp are right, either the leader who want them dead, or thing it's not worth the work and money, and the MC who is against it (who clearly not understand to adapte on a new world and common-sens, and forcefull try to make it like the modern bias from wealty country).
For the other parts, i'm pretty much in the same mind as you. Even more for the lack of reflect and understanding to the thing around her. Many who are totaly obvious if you have be "human" before. Even if you have live sheltered, and blind to the world around like it seem the MC was, honnestly. And i wonder how he as be able to if like he said all time, loved to use the net => it's totaly contradictory. Same with the sun ! How can a ex-human guy don't know how good it is to bask in the sun after day's indors forced to work on something ? This make no sens at all !!!
I simply hope the MC will use something betwen "give birth" and "create from nothing" for the little one. And not go find some smuchk or bast*rd to "force have a baby" with him. Or worst, fall in love with some guy created just for that. Honnestly, the Yuri part will have far more sens for what the MC as be until now.
There are just to many thing who make no-sens for the way she act. Like some many beta japaness smurch in cheap novel, just to have harem and OP guy from some bottom-feddert-tier trash to make more people think "if i can be him, it will be so good" (and other self-fullfilment trash-novel).
But with all of that said and done, i like this part of the story more than the previous, in many point. And for me, the dark setting, and heavy thing who as happen is good. Even if just to make the fluff more sweet by contrast to the sourness of it. I'm only sad the "change and evolve" of the MC is so badly used, and go to a path i don't like at all. But even with this latter part, the story remaind pretty good on many points. Most of 50% at last
I made an account to reply that I agree with this.
I dropped this novel for awhile because I hated this part of the story but I didn't know exactly what I disliked about this arc. Thanks for clarifying.